Refrigerating-tank



F. J. HEIDEVAN.

REFRIGERATING '[ANK. APPLICATION HLED APR. 16, 1919.

rammed Aug. .24,1926e 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

A TTQR/VE/ 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

F. I; IIEIDEMAN.

REFRIGERATING TANK.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 16. 1919.

Patented Aug. 24, 1920 l||l Ill] .'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED J'. HEIDEMAN, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNEASSIGNMENTS, TO HOUSEHOLD UTILITIES CORPORATION, OF DETROIT, MICH- IGAN,A CORPORATION 0F DELAWARE.

REFRIGERATING-TANK.

Patented Aug. 24, 1920.

Application iiled April 16, 1919. Serial No. 290,545.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED J. HEIDEMAN, a citizen of the United States,residin at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and tate of Michigan, haveinvented a new and useful Refrigerating-Tank, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to refrigerators, and more particularly to suchrefrigerators as are cooled by circulation of a cooling medium withincoils immersed in brine or some other liquid having a relatively lowfreezing point.

It is the object of the invention to insure a positive circulation ofthe brine or similar liquid so that within a comparatively short periodof time all portions of said liquid will come either into contact orinto proximity to the immersed coils and yield up their heat thereto, amore uniformly low temperature thus being maintained in the entire bodyof brine than is otherwise obtainable without increasing the number ofcooling coils.

In attaining said object the invention contemplates providing a brinetank having the cooling co1ls which are immersed therein of such a shapeas to secure a cooling effect that is unbalanced with respect to opposedsides of the tank, and having open air chambers therein one or more ofwhich is eccentrically located so as to accentuate the unbalancedtemperature conditions at the opposed sides of the tank by compelling anunbalanced absorption of heat from the air, a thermosiphon circulationof the brine being induced by the unbalanced temperature conditions.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved refrigerator.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the brine tank, the section beingtaken on line 2 2 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of said tank, the plane of sectionbeing parallel to the front wall of the tank.

In these views the reference character 1 designates a refrigerator,adapted to be cooled by mechanical refrigeration and having in one ofits compartments the brine tank 2. Said tank is formed with upper andlower open air passages 3 and 4 respectively, the lower of which iseccentrically located so as to form at one side thereof a hollow column5 of considerable thickness, while the hollow column 6 at the other sideis comparatively thin. Within the upper portion of the tank 2 there islocated the coil 7 through which the refrigerant is adapted toclrculate, said coil surrounding the alr passage 3 and being of anunsymmetrical shape so as to exercise an unbalanced cooling effect, thelargerportion of the coil being positioned above the relatively thickcolumn 5.

In the operation of the above-described invention the unner portion ofthe brine tank is unbalanced. as to temperature conditions because arelatively large portion ofthe coil 7 is positioned at one side of thevertical axis of the tank. Correspondingly unbalanced temperatureconditions exist in the lower portion of the tank for the reason thatthere is a relativelv large hollow column 5 beneath the larger portionof the coil 7, while the hollow column 6 below the smaller portion ofthe coil is of lesser thickness. The smaller column being more readilyraised in temperature by the heat absorbed from the air becomes warmerthan the column 5. Because of the unbalanced temperature conditions thuscreated, there is a tendency for the brine to flow downwardly throughthe column 5 and upwardly through the column 6, setting up thecirculation indicated lby the arrows in Fig. 2. Because of thiscirculation, the portion of the brine bathing the coils 7 is constantlychanging and the heat of the air within the compartment receiving thetank is more rapidly transferred to the brine and thence to said coilsthan where positive circulation is lacking.

While it is common in the present state of the art to immersetherefrigerating coils within a vbrine tank having openv air passagestherein, it is believed to be an innova- -tion to secure unbalancedtemperature conditions and a consequent positive circulation as has beendescribed.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a coil for circulation of a cooling medium, of atank containin a liquid wherein said coil is irnmerse said tank beingformed with an air passage eccentric' to the vertical axis of the tank,whereby a thermo-Siphon circulation is induced around said air passage.

2. The combination with a coil for circulation of a cooling medium, of atank containing a liquid wherein said coil 1s immersed, said tank havingupper and lower air passages, the upper air passage beingsurrounded bysaid coil and the lower air passage being eccentricto the vertical axisofthe tank to induce a thermo-Siphon circulation around said lowerpassage.

3. The combination with a coil for circ1r\` lation of a cooling medium,of a tank containing a liquid wherein said `coil is immersed,'said coilhaving unequal portions at opposite sides of the Vertical axis of thetank, producing an unbalanced cooling effect and a consequentthermo-Siphon circulation. v

4. The combination with a coil for circulation of a cooling medium, of atank containing a liquid wherein said coil is immersed, said tank havingan air passagesurrounded by the coil, said coil having unequal portionsat the respective sides of said air passage whereby an unbalancedcooling effect. and a conse uent thermosiphon circulation is inducewithin said tank.

5. The combination with a coil for circulation of a cooling medium, of atank containing a liquid wherein said coil is immersed, said coil havinga major portion thereof at one sidevof the'vertical axis of the tank,and the tank being formed with an air passage, the major portion ofwhich is at the other side of the vertical axis of the tank, wherebythev location of said coil and air-passage co-act to induce unbalancedtemperature conditions and a consequent thermo-Siphon circulation.

6. The combination with a coil for circulation of a cooling medium, of atank containing a liquidwherein said coil is immersed, said tank beingformed with upper and lower air passages, the upper air passage beingsurrounded by said coil, and the coll having unequal portions at therespective sides of said passage, whereby unbalanced temperatureconditions are induced in the upper portion of the tank, the lower airpassage being eccentrically located relative to the vertical axis of thetank to form unequal columns at the respective sides thereof and induce/correspondin unbalanced temperature conditions in t e lower portion ofthe tank, a thermo-Siphon circulation of the immersing liquid beineffected by` the unbalanced temperature con itions.

7 The combination with a container for a cooling medium, of a tankcontaining a li uid wherein said container is immersed, said tank beingformed with-an air passage eccentric to the vertical axis of the tank,whereby thermo-Siphon circulation is induced around said air passage.

8. The combination with a container for a coolin medium, of a tankcontaining a liquid w erein said container is immersed,

said container having unequal portions at' opposite vsides of thevertical axis of the tank, producing an unbalanced effect and a conseuent thermo-Siphon circulation.

9. e combination with a container for a cooling medium, of a tankcontaining a liquid wherein said container is immersed, said containerhaving a ma'or portion thereof at one side of the vertical axis of thetank, and the tank being formed with an air passage the ma'or portion ofwhich is at the other side o the vertical axis of the tank, whereby thelocation of said container and air passageco-act to induce unbalancedtemperature conditions and a consequent thermo-siphon circulation.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification.

FRED J. HEIDEMAN.

